VOLUNTEER

LEAH RANSOHOFF

VOLUNTEER

LEAH RANSOHOFF

In “Volunteer” I became a strangely disguised, bashful creature of the night. Blurring the lines between audience and performer, a docent placed a volunteer on stage with a dim flashlight illuminating them in an otherwise dark room. After a few unsure moments of vulnerability between the audience members and volunteer, I proceeded to rise up onto my hands and feet from the back of the room. I walked backwards on all fours alongside the audience members, who saw me as this creature only after I had passed their seats. The audience was now aware of what was coming for the volunteer, but were unaware of what was to happen to the volunteer on stage. The volunteer was completely oblivious to this black ominous creature slowly lumbering towards them and only had the audience reactions of nervous laughter and gasps to respond to. Once I crossed the path of the flashlight’s beam, I became illuminated by the light and seen, for the first time, by the volunteer. Vulnerable, alone and obligated to remain where they were on stage, the volunteer watched as this creature crawled closer and closer. I crawled up their leg, stood up, unzipped and revealed myself only to give this scared and alone person a soft kiss on the cheek. I then re-assumed the disguise and the creature crawled back into darkness.